


Tidings Of Comfort and Joy

by sage_theory (papersage)



Category: The Tomorrow People (1992)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-02
Updated: 2010-03-02
Packaged: 2017-10-07 16:11:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papersage/pseuds/sage_theory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, you have to invent your own traditions. Christmas request fic for Latimer84.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tidings Of Comfort and Joy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [latimer84](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=latimer84).



_"If I cannot bring you comfort  
Then at least I bring you hope."_

\- Tori Amos  
"The Closing of the Year"

Megabyte knows a bribe when he gets one. There are more presents than he knows what to do with under two different trees. A few of them duplicates. His father and his mother aren't talking. He can tell. They both got him the same new video game and when he mentions this,they send Megabyte and his sister up to their rooms so they can scream at each other in peace.

Lisa teleports in a little later, when Megabyte's mother has left, and sits beside him on the stairs.

"Yeah, I remember this part," Lisa says, sighing. "My parents did this when they got divorced. It was such a pain."

Megabyte rolls his eyes. "I don't really care. I feel bad I didn't get anyone anything, though. Sorry. Kinda didn't know what you wanted."

"A break from my mother, that's what!" Lisa says and sighs deeply. "She had to go be extra traditional this year and invite everyone over. Look at what she's making me wear. Like my grandmother even cares."

It is then that Megabyte notices the completely ridiculous Christmas sweater that Lisa is being forced to wear. It looks hand-knit, it has rows of deer and a Santa in the middle with fluffy balls craft glued all over it.

"Christmas used to be fun," Megabyte sighs, pressing his forehead against banister and closing his eyes.

Lisa frowns. "Yeah, I know. It gets better. I mean, next year, they'll know what to do. You might as well enjoy all the extra presents this time. Once my mom and dad could actually talk to each other, I only got half as much stuff. At least we've got somewhere to go. Adam's just at the island, alone."

Megabyte gets a smirk across his face. "You think he likes water guns?"

Lisa rolls her eyes, but she smiles back at him in that rare way she does when she stops being upset. The idea is, of course, obvious. Stupid, maybe. But obvious. And obviously fun.

[Hey, Kevin!] Megabyte calls, telepathically. Kevin's boredom backwashes against his mind like a wave hitting him in the face, salty and unpleasant and somewhat slap-like.

[I hate Christmas,] Kevin moans. [Dad's gone off again.]

[Hey, you get anything you didn't like?]

[I got a football. I hate football,] Kevin says.

[Perfect!] Megabyte says. [Get some Christmas decorations and a present you didn't like and get to my house. We're having a real Christmas this year.]

They each take something from their trees. Megabyte makes away with garland, peeking around the tree as his father sits at the kitchen table with a glass in his hand. Lisa, for once, wills her mom and aunts to keep talking away as she detatches a strand of lights and pulls it slowly around the circumference of their tree. Kevin makes up for his inability to reach the tree top by carefully levitating the star and lowering it into his hand. No one hears them over the telly and his dad screaming the walls down.

Megabyte makes off with some of the kid-safe eggnog when his dad leaves the kitchen to call and go round two with him mom. Lisa has a plethora of brownies with green, red, and white sprinkles in tupperware. Kevin makes off with a box of storebought cookies.

They dump the loot on Megabyte's bed and look at each other, and start laughing.

"So what's the idea?" Kevin asks, looking at the stuff on Megabyte's bed.

"Adam doesn't really have a real Christmas, right?" Megabyte asks.

"Yeah, but he said he didn't want one," Kevin objects.

"Don't be stupid. Everybody wants Christmas."

"Oh yeah, and what if he's Jewish or something?" Kevin challenges, leveling a gaze his friend.

"He's got a point. We never asked," Lisa says, looking uncomfortably at the lights and garland.

"Then we won't call it Christmas. We're doing this, okay?" Megabyte says. "We're gonna surprise him, so nobody tell."

"Yeah, okay. But if it turns out he's got a different religion or something, I'm blaming you."

Megabyte smirks. "Fine. Now, come on, let's go before someone notices."

They all grab what they can and teleport into the ship, looking slightly deranged but very eager nonetheless. Megabyte has garland around his neck like a boa. There are things wrapped in newspaper and Kevin is holding brownies. Adam sits, knees pulled to his chin, looking out of the watery window.

"What's going on?" Adam asks, half smiling out of pure confusion.

"It's, uh..." Megabyte hesitates, suddenly just as afraid of getting it wrong as Lisa and Kevin were. "It's Happy Get Away From Things You Don't Like Day! Wow, we really need to work on this place. Lisa, you hang this over there, and hey, we have eggnog."

Adam looks hesitant. "I don't know."

"Don't be a scrooge, help us get these up."

Once the ship is sufficiently decorated, Megabyte looks around with a satisfied smile. He still has some garland around his neck.

"So what now?" Adam asks, unable to keep from grinning at the oddly hung decorations and the star that's on the ship's trawl, rotating around like some kind of bizarre alien holiday decoration.

"The best part! Presents!" Megabyte declares, nodding sagaciously. "On this day, you celebrate by giving people special gifts."

"Special gifts?" Adam asks. He is, quite wisely, hesitant.

Lisa holds out something that is vaguely square shaped and wrapped in newspaper. "You have to open mine first."

Adam tries to smile but it's clear something is holding him back. "Guys, you don't have to. I didn't get you anything."

"We got plenty of stuff. Come on, open them up," Lisa urges.

Adam smiles and accepts. After receiving a brand new dictionary, a water gun, and a football in a box he laughs and lights up like all his Christmases came at once. Megabyte explains that Happy Getting Away From Things You Don't Like Days entails re-gifting and hoping someone likes it better than you do.

"Well, I've never gotten a dictionary before," says Adam, looking at his loot.

"Hopefully I never will again," says Lisa. "My aunt is so weird."

"At least you parents don't keep trying to give you footballs," Kevin replies.

"I still feel bad that I didn't get you guys anything," Adam repeats.

Kevin says, "We didn't get anything for each other, either. So it's all right. I wouldn't know how to shop for a girl. Sorry, Lisa."

Suddenly Lisa grunts and starts squirming out of her sweater to reveal a white shirt beneath.

"Here, you can have my sweater," she says, throwing it at Kevin and earning a laugh when it hits him in the face. "It looks just as bad on a boy."

"All right, then!" Kevin says, and puts it on - almost to show Lisa he can take that dare.

"Then you get a football," Adam says, and holds out a football that he knows that Lisa has no idea what to do with.

"Because I play so much soccer," Lisa says, grinning.

"Hey, Kevin, catch!" Lisa calls, tossing a football to Kevin who then tosses it to Megabyte.

Mischeviously, Megabyte looks to Adam and points to the squirt gun.

[It's loaded,] Megabyte tells him, winking. Adam smiles and picks it up.

Just as Lisa is reaching for a cookie, Adam takes aim and gets her right in the shoulder. For a moment she's shocked, but then she starts laughing.

"Think fast, Megabyte!" Kevin shouts. Megabyte catches the ball and theatrically goes tumbling over.

They laugh and eat stolen sweets and eggnod and Adam calls out unbelievably weird words from the dictionary while Lisa and Kevin trade off squirting Megabyte with the gun until he's sopping wet. When the sugar high comes crashing down, they all end up falling asleep there in the ship after a while.Megabyte is still wearing a boa of golden garland and Kevin's in a girls' sweater and Lisa is hugging a football. They're all a little soaked and newspaper is scattered around the ship's floor.

Over their heads, a star still rotates.

  
\- END -


End file.
